As Andrew Mitchell MP faces ongoing calls to explain precisely what was said
during his "outburst" at Downing Street police officers, the Telegraph
examines how the scandal unfolded.

7.30pmThe incident in question occurs. Andrew Mitchell MP leaves Downing Street on his bicycle and attempts to cycle through the main gate. He is stopped by police officers, who direct him towards the side gate, and launches into an exchange described variously as an "outburst", "rant" and "tirade". He is reported to have been threatened with arrest after using foul language.

Friday, September 22

The exchange is first reported on the front page of the Sun newspaper, under the headline: "CABINET MINISTER: POLICE ARE PLEBS". Sources in the report, published on Friday claim Mr Mitchell called police "f----- plebs" and told them they had "best learn your f------ place". The extraordinary outburst was said to include the Chief Whip calling armed officers "morons", and left bystanders "visibly shocked".

I attempted to leave Downing Street via the main gate, something I have been allowed to do many times before. I was told that I was not allowed to leave that way. While I do not accept that I used the words that have been reported, I accept I did not treat the police with the respect they deserve. I have seen the supervising sergeant and apologised and will also apologise to the police officer involved.

8am A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron said he was aware of the outburst and "is glad that Mitchell has apologised". "Police should always be treated with respect," he added.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Jim Murphy - It's not so much Andrew Mitchell's vocabulary that is so revealing; it's more about his arrogance to those outside his circle of elites.&lt;/noframe&gt;

9.45am Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the reports were "appalling" and wondered how a chief whip could instil respect when he "can't even keep his cool". "The idea that a cabinet minister could behave like this towards police officers doing their job is an utter disgrace," she said.

11.55am The Police Federation of England and Wales said it was "hard to fathom how someone who holds the police in such contempt could be allowed to hold a public office". Paul McKeever, the federation's chairman, said: "Mr Mitchell's half-hearted apology for the comments made whilst leaving Downing Street will do little to build bridges with the police, who feel they have once again been treated with a lack of respect and civility by members of this government."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, former Conservative Party chairman Lord Tebbit condemned Mr Mitchell's comments as "extraordinarily stupid", saying something must have been "bugging" the MP for him to lose his temper "in such a silly way".

12pm The Sun releases a statement standing by the original story, amid claims Mr Mitchell did not use the term "pleb".

12.30pm David Cameron, speaking during a visit to Corby, Northamptonshire, refused to answer questions from reporters about Mr Mitchell, but added: "I'm going to deal with this later."

Andrew Mitchell apologised by telephone to a police officer following an angry confrontation, it is revealed.

What Andrew Mitchell said and what he did was not appropriate. It was wrong and it is right that he has apologised. He has obviously apologised to me, but more importantly he has apologised thoroughly to the police and that needed to be done.

1.30pmMr Mitchell was reported to have pulled out of a speaking engagement in Reading amid ongoing speculation.

1.40pm Fresh embarrassment for the Conservative Party as footage of Boris Johnson calling for anyone who swears at a police officer to be arrested is recalled and re-broadcast. The Mayor of London had told a conference:

If people swear at the police, they must expect to be arrested. Not just because it's wrong to expect officers to endure profanities, but it's also because of the experience of the culprits. If people feel there are no comebacks, no boundaries and no retribution for the small stuff, then I'm afraid they will go on to commit worse crimes

Joanne McCartney, chair of the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee, said: "It seems it's one rule for the public and another for those running the country. Perhaps the Prime Minister should do more than accept a simple apology."

4.15pm Head of the Metropolitan Police Federation John Tully called for Mr Mitchell to resign, saying it is "unacceptable for someone of his standing to use such disrespectful and abusive language to a police constable let alone anyone else".

He said:

If the shoe was on the other foot and my officer had said those things he'd be out of a job now. It's double standards.

4.45pm Labour calls on Number 10 to say whether Mr Mitchell was accusing the police officer involved of lying. "There are two alternatives - either the Chief Whip used appalling and offensive language to an officer going about their duty, or Mr Mitchell is saying the officer is lying," a spokeman said.

6.45pm Senior Tory backbencher David Ruffley defended Mr Mitchell, saying he was a "strong supporter of tough, traditional law and order policies" and was "on the side of policemen and policewomen."

7.30pm The Met Police Federation's John Tully said Mr Mitchell had been warned by officers at the time and was likely to have been arrested if he had continued.

Saturday, September 23

12am: The Sun reports Mr Mitchell is facing increasing pressure to resign after it emerged the police officer involved in the "furious rant" was a woman.

8am Liberal Democrat president Tim Farron said the comments, as reported, were "beyond unacceptable" and "absolutely appalling".

11amKen Clarke, minister without portfolio, defended Mr Mitchell, saying he was a "perfectly reasonable, courteous man" who must have had a "flare of bad temper on this occasion".

2.30pmNick de Bois, a Tory backbench MP, said: "If it turns out that he said these words then he is in deep trouble."

5.20pmPaul Beshenivsky, whose wife Sharon was killed on duty in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in November 2005, called on the Prime Minister to take responsibility for Mr Mitchell's actions.

He said:

David Cameron should be responsible for what his ministers say, they are his minister and they are working with him. Ministers shouldn't be going round foul-mouthing police officers, especially under the current circumstances.

6.40pm Shadow police minister David Hanson called on David Cameron to "urgently" review Mr Mitchell's version of events. "It is not good for the Government to have this hanging over it," he said.

He does not dispute he lost it a bit. It was in frustration at the episode and not aimed directly at the officers. It was the fourth time he had been at Downing Street that day - he is frequently allowed to use the main gate on his bike. He is absolutely not accusing anyone of lying. He realises there may be differing versions of what was said but he is adamant he did not use the words he is reported to have used.

8.30am Deputy Liberal Democrat leader Simon Hughes said it was "never good" for a public figure to be disrespectful to the police. He said: "At this time, of all times, still in the seven days following the death of two police constables on duty, I think the message has to be that we respect the police and we don't lose our tempers with them."

10am Bookmakers William Hill offer odds of 11/10 that Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell will be out of his job before October 1, 2012, but make him slight odds-on at 4/6 to survive.

10.15am Nick Clegg said Mr Mitchell had been "very wrong" to lose his temper, but suggested he should be allowed to "draw a line" unless new information came to light.

12.30pm Communities Secretary Eric Pickles admitted Mr Mitchell used "ungentlemanly and ungallant language", but said he should not lose his job for having a "bad temper".

I think Andrew now should be given the opportunity to start the process of being a good chief whip... I don't believe somebody should lose public office merely because they use inappropriate words and showed bad temper. Here we have a guy on a bicycle who lost his rag.

2pm Labour wrote to Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood calling for Downing Street to release in full accounts of what was said as well as investigate the incident.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said:

This is completely unacceptable behaviour from a Cabinet Minister, and a half hearted private apology is clearly insufficient. Everyone is already deeply concerned that a senior Cabinet Minister is reported as dismissing police officers doing an important security job as "plebs" It is really important that the Prime Minister does not compound this by dismissing the testimony of police officers and the evidence from their notebooks without proper investigation.

8am Telegraph readers shared their thoughts on the issue in today's newspaper.

Rebecca Goldsmith wrote: "Surely Mr Mitchell's behaviour qualifies him perfectly for his job as Chief Whip? Hectoring, bullying and blindly obeying the party are the raison d'etre of that role.

Robin Clark asked: "Is "pleb" any more insulting as a description than "toff"?

John M. Scott wondered: "Would you have a man who behaves like Andrew Mitchell in your gold club? No."

7.30amNick Clegg said Mr Mitchell should give an account of the row, saying: "It's really important that Andrew Mitchell explains fully and in detail his version of events." When asked about the possibility of an inquiry, he added: "I rather hope it doesn't come to that, that we have to spend money on an inquiry into a version of events about what one individual has said to another. I hope people will just honourably tell the truth."

It had been the end of a long and extremely frustrating day - not that that is any excuse at all for what happened," he said. I didn't show the police the amount of respect I should have done. We should all respect the police, they do an incredibly difficult job.

8.30am The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation John Tully warned Mr Mitchell's comments did not mark the end of the matter and called on David Cameron to hold an investigation.

Clearly Mr Mitchell is denying using certain words, effectively now impugning the integrity of the police officers. I think that is very serious. I think the Prime Minister or Downing Street officials should hold an inquiry and if Mr Mitchell is proved to have lied, then he should be sacked.

11am Shadow police minister David Hanson said Mr Mitchell's response was "simply not enough" and re-iterated calls for an inquiry.

11.05amClassics professor Mary Beard explains the true origins of the word "pleb": The irony then is that most of the mega rich, pushy and snobby Roman politicians of the first century BC were, in formal terms, plebeians. Cicero was, Pompey was, so was Mr Moneybags himself ("Count no man as rich unless he can raise his own army"), Marcus Licinius Crassus. So when Cicero was being snooty about the sordida plebs (and plebs is just short for plebeius), we have to remember that strictly he was actually a plebeian himself. So I think that the best way to get at Mr Mitchell might be to point out to him that, snob as I guess he is, he is probably just as plebeian as those he was insulting. Pots and kettles.

11.15am Chief Superintendent Irene Curtis, president-elect of the Police Superintendents' Association, said: "We are five days on from when this incident happened and we're still no clearer as to what was said. By saying he disputes what the officer has said, he's actually calling into question the police officer's integrity, and for a police officer that's a very serious matter."

12.20pm Police announce they are investigating how details of the incident came to light. A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said: "We are aware of this. The Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed. Inquiries into the circumstances are being carried out."

1pm In his speech at the Lib Dem conference, Vince Cable could not resist mentioning the scandal.

Most of our MPs will face Conservatives at the next general election. They face the enticing prospect of a Tory split. Now I don't know what Boris and Dave got up to in Eton. Perhaps a pillow fight got out of control in the dormitories. I have been told, however, that jokes about social class are not good for the unity of the coalition. But as a mere pleb, I couldn't resist it.

Mr Esterson said: "David Cameron is showing himself too weak to sort this out. He is refusing to detail what happened and refusing to ask for the Cabinet Secretary to investigate.

"It is now about whether a Government minister can get away with questioning the integrity of the police. The parliamentary commissioner for standards must step in to provide answers as fast as possible."